


Finding Him

by orphan_account



Series: Back Down That Road [2]
Category: Achievement Hunter
Genre: Feels, Fluffy feelings of fluff, Lesbians, Love, M/M, Sweetness, cuteness, lurve, this story isn't actually about lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-04
Updated: 2013-08-04
Packaged: 2017-12-22 09:23:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/911574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m an idiot.”</p><p>“Yeah. So?”</p><p>“I don’t know, I just felt like I should point that out.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Him

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to do a sequel because I was begged. So, yeah, here it is. Hopefully you like it.
> 
> Rated M, again because Michael Jones is a character in it so, really, there will be some strong language.
> 
> Geoff Ramsey's laugh makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

_“So I travel back down that road, will [he] come back? No one knows. I realize, yeah, it was only just a DREEAAAMM!”_

Ray and Michael raised an eyebrow at each other as they reentered the office. The chorus of some shitty hip hop song ended on a warbly high note sung out by Geoff. Ryan was singing along tunelessly and Jack was trying (and horribly failing) to set a beat. But when Michael walked in, the singing stopped and the glares returned in full force. If that didn’t make Michael feel like shit, nothing could.

He walked over to his desk and sat down and turned his chair so he was facing the rest of the room.

“I’m a piece of shit,” He stated, matter-of-factly.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Geoff replied with false cheer.

“I don’t expect you guys to forgive me. Not yet, anyway.” Michael looked to Ray for some moral support. The Puerto Rican responded by walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. Geoff gave Ray a baffled look but the younger man just shrugged and gave Michael’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“Just hear him out, guys,” Ray pleaded. “He fucked up, sure, but we’ve fucked up before too.”

“We’ve never fucked up so bad that it sent one of our friends away to God knows where,” Geoff retorted.

“Oh, so you call that week that Griffon spent at her friend’s in Houston a vacation?” Ray asked condescendingly.

“Shut the fuck up,” Geff snarled. “Don’t you talk about my wife, you prick. And since when are you on _his_ side?” Geoff gestured to Michael as if he was some parasite or maggot.

“I’m not on his side! I’m on Gavin’s side! And he wouldn’t want us to be shitting all over Michael for this!”

“Gavin’s not here to tell us what he would want! And you were shitting on him just as much as the rest of us a few minutes ago!”

“Yeah, well I take it back.”

“You can’t take it back!”

“I can.”

“You can’t”

“Guys!” Jack exclaimed. “Look at what you’re saying! You sound like five year olds! Geoff, you and Michael have been friends for years. The least you can do is listen to what he has to say.”

Geoff glared at Ray but kept his tongue. He looked at Michael who had his head in his hands, trying to will away the persistent ache behind his eyes. Geoff softened a bit and leaned back in his chair.

“Alright,” He said quietly, “alright.”

Michael looked up. Geoff nodded at him, giving him permission to speak. Michael cleared his throat and gave each of his co-workers a serious look.

“So I fucked up,” He started, earning him a scoff from Ray. “Just hear me out. I fucked up. I was being shitty to Gav, and I didn’t even realize it. What I did with Lindsay, that was the where I really majorly, like sonic-boom fucked up. I don’t know what I was thinking and I’m sorry. The thing is, I’ve never really been good with feelings and well...feeling them. So when Gavin and I started doing...whatever it was we were doing, I just kinda went with it, you know? No strings attached, no relationship problems, no drama, just...you know, sex. But, I was wrong because Gavin fell in love with me--”

“Yeah he fucking did, and you didn’t even--”

“Geoff!” Jack intervened. “Let him finish.”

“Sorry,” Geoff said stiffly. “Continue.”

“I didn’t know he’d fallen in love with me. But I should have known, I should have fucking seen it. He made it pretty damn obvious, now that I think about it. I guess I just wasn’t seeing what I didn’t want to see.” Michael paused as he remembered all the times Gavin had looked at him with those soft green eyes and all the times he saw Gavin’s heart break behind them. Guilt welled up in his gut, but he pushed it down. “Anyways the point is, I never thought I could feel the same way...and it took me way too long to figure it out, but I do.”

“You do?” Geoff asked. “You mean you--”

“--love him?” Michael finished with a small smile. “Yeah, I love him.”

“About fucking time,” Ryan muttered. Michael chuckled and looked back at Geoff who was looking at Ray as if seeking some sort of confirmation that what Michael was saying was true.

“Don’t worry Geoff,” Ray said lightly, “Michael here has it fucking bad.”

“Good.”

“That’s what I said!” Ray exclaimed, smiling.

“So what now?” Geoff asked.

“I said that too!” Michael ignored Ray.

“I have to find him.”

“Well good luck with that, he’s vanished off the face of the fucking planet,” Geoff snorted.

“I’m not so sure,” Michael disagreed. “I mean, I know he’s angry, but I don’t think he’d just vanish into thin air. Maybe he went back to England?”

“No, I thought of that already. If Gavin went back to England, chances are he’d tell Dan and Dan would tell us.”

“He might have friends there that we don’t know about.”

“I don’t know,” Ray interrupted. “I don’t think he would go that far.”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Because he loves you, you idiot. And maybe just a tiny part of him is hoping that you’ll find him.”

“And if that isn’t the case?”

“Then we’ll start a full fucking Global-scale search for him. But, before we do anything too wild, don’t you think we should start more...I don’t know, local?”

Ray made a valid point and the rest of the guys were quick to agree. In no time, they were surfing Gavin’s entire internet life; his favorite bars, the places he’d been to most recently, his frequented hangouts, anything and everything that might give them any clue as to where the Brit had disappeared too.

“You guys ready to go?” Michael asked after they had printed out a list of, pretty much, all the places Gavin had ever stepped foot in, in all of Austin, Texas.

“Yeah,” Ray said cheerily.

“I’m not nearly drunk enough for this,” Geoff groaned as he examined the long list of places they had to go.

“Alright,” Michael stated. “Jack, Ryan, don’t leave until we get back in case Gavin comes back here. Hopefully we’ll find him pretty quick.”

Ryan and Jack nodded but Michael didn’t even see it as he was already rushing out of the office.

“Okay,” Ray said as they slid inside of Geoff’s car. “Where to?”

“The Butterfly Bar.”

The bar was a bust and so were the three others after it. They moved on to restaurants and steakhouses, all of which came up empty. If the place they were looking at had a motel or hotel near enough, they’d check there too. So far, nothing. They went through 15 possible locations, and there were still two pages of places to go. They tried malls, every Ikea they could find (because, come on, who _wouldn’t_ hide in Ikea?), and anything that might appeal to the Brit’s taste. They turned the city of Austin upside down looking for Gavin, and when they got to the last page of the list Michael was calling, “Possible Places Where British Fucks Might Hide,” they all got a bit nervous.

“Dicks,” Geoff groaned as they sat in a parking lot somewhere in West Austin. “Okay, fuck the list. Michael, this all has something to do with you, right?”

“Hey, I thought we were over this part!” Michael whined, defensively.

“I’m not saying it as insult,” Geoff assured. “But, if this all has something to do with you, maybe there’s a place where you and Gavin went.”

Michael thought about that for second.

“Is there somewhere like that?” Geoff continued. “Maybe somewhere where you guys first held hands or first touched dic-”

“Oh shit,” Michael interrupted. He was such a _fucking moron_.

“What?”

“I know where he is.”

“Where?” Ray exclaimed from the back seat.

“Just shut the fuck up and let me drive.”

They drove for, what felt like, hours. They got further and further away from the city and drove toward the more rural outskirts where Austin ended and a million miles of nothing began. Just as they hit the start of all that nothing, Michael turned them into the parking lot of a tiny building with a bright neon sign that said, “Pretty in Pink.” Half the neon was out and the place looked like a safety hazard but Michael felt a certain fondness toward it.

“You think he’s here?” Geoff asked incredulously.

“I know he’s here,” Michael answered confidently.

“In a _lesbian_ bar?” Ray asked, sounding even more surprised than Geoff. Michael just nodded, a grin playing at his lips.“You mean a bar filled with boobs and vaginas and everything that Gavin hates?”

“Yes,” Michael laughed. “He’s here, guys, trust me.”

“ _Why_?” The two said unison, eliciting more laughter from Michael.

“He lost a bet,” was Michael’s only answer. Before his two stunned co-workers could generate anymore questions, Michael was already out of the car and making his way into the tiny building.

Just as he suspected, the blond Brit was sitting on a barstool, facing away from the entrance when Michael walked in. The sight of him filled Michael with so much relief that his knees almost gave out. He took a deep breath and started to approach the younger man. He was sitting, sipping some fruity looking drink and watching the very butch-looking bartender as she flirted with all the girls sitting at the bar. Some of the girls were giving Gavin weird looks but they were mostly ignoring him. Too soon, Michael felt, he was standing right behind him. He took one more bracing breath before speaking.

“I know I told you look like a girl, but I didn’t think you’d take it this seriously.”

Gavin jumped, turning around. His wide green eyes stole all the breath from Michael’s lungs. Before the smaller man could say anything, Michael was devouring the soft, pink mouth with his own. The kiss was nothing more than lips pressed against lips, somewhat chaste and innocent. But it still had Michael panting when he pulled away.

“You stupid fucking prick,” Michael laughed against Gavin’s lips because he was really too relieved to be angry.

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t worried. He had totally worried. Every time they walked into a bar or restaurant or coffee shop and Gavin had failed be there, the image of his cold, dead corpse in some ditch somewhere would become more and more vivid in Michael’s mind. But he dropped all of that because Gavin wasn’t dead, he was there, pressed against Michael and it felt _so_ good.

“Didn’t think you’d remember,” Gavin muttered back, not moving his mouth from Michael’s. They weren’t kissing anymore, just breathing each other in. When Gavin would exhale, Michael would inhale and vice versa as if giving each other CPR, bringing each other back to life.

“How could I forget?” He chuckled, finally moving his lips away from Gavin’s to rest his head on the smaller man’s shoulder. He remembered the small bar very well.

It had been right after RTX, the last night. The after party had gotten a little too crowded and the music had been a little too loud. At least, that was the excuse they used when they ducked out early. Truthfully, it had been an entire three days of hectic, back-and-forth, restlessness and Gavin and Michael hadn’t had a moment alone together all week. It had been before they had started their little tryst. Back when they were just good friends with a lot of unresolved sexual tension. They left the party and didn’t even agree on a destination before they were driving away from the convention center. When they realized they had no idea where they were going to go, Gavin made a bet.

“If you can guess how many red-bulls I’ve had in the last 24 hours, you can take me anywhere you’d like tonight, Michael.”

“14,” Michael said without pause.

“What?” The Brit exclaimed. “How did you know?”

“You told me earlier you asshole,” Michael laughed. Gavin spluttered and complained, but Michael was already typing a destination into his car’s GPS.

That’s how they ended up in one of the only lesbian bars in Austin, Texas. Gavin complained and whined and every time a girl would come up to him and hit on him, thinking that he was a _really_ butch dyke, Michael would crack up, laughing.

“You should take it as a compliment,” Michael had said. “It means you’re pretty.”

Soon after, Gavin was too smashed to care if lesbians hit on him. He dragged Michael to the back entrance of the bar and they sat outside all night, looking up at the stars. The little bar was just out of reach of the heavy light pollution of the city. The black sky was dotted with thousands of glittering stars. If Michael hadn’t been in such a heavy state of denial, he would have called it romantic. But it hadn’t been, not back then. It had been incredibly manly stargazing. And if they leaned in just a little too close to each other, then so what?

“Hey, Micoo,” Gavin said in that stupidly overly-accented voice he sometimes used.

“Yeah, Gav?” There was no answer, just the feeling of wet, sloppy lips on his own. It wasn’t as weird as it should have been. And it took Michael way too long to pull away. He blamed it on the alcohol in his system, even though he’d only had one beer. Before there could be any freakouts or fights, the sun was coming up on the horizon. The thought of them being out all night made Michael too tired to fight so he just wrapped a very platonic arm around his best friend’s shoulders and they very unromantically watched the sunrise together

“The place of our first kiss,” Michael whispered, coming back to the present. “You’re a sentimental ponce, you know that?”

“Thought it’d be the last place you looked, you doof,” Gavin retorted. Michael didn’t bother telling him that he was totally right about that, because what the Brit didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Until he remembered. It could.

“Come on, let’s go to the back.” Gavin followed him, their hands interlocked.

Once they got outside, they leaned against the wall.

The relief from earlier seemed to fade and they both felt instantly weighted down by the events of the last 24 hours.

“I’m an idiot,” Michael stated.

“Yeah so?” Gavin retorted, but that stupid smirk was making his lips twitch.

“I don’t know, just thought I should point that out.” Gavin laughed.

“It’s a valid point,” he joked.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about it first?” Michael asked. “Why did you run?”

“I wanted to see if you’d chase me,” Gavin answered without missing a beat. His lips twitched upward.

“I’m sorry,” Michael said sincerely. Gavin shook his head.

“Just tell me that you love me,” he said, his smirk rising on his lips. Michael flushed and it was instantly Gavin’s new favorite thing ever.

“I’m sorry about Lindsay,” Michael rambled, “I should have--”

“Just tell me you love me,” Gavin said again, the smirk on his face turning into a grin.

“But I need you understand that I’m so--” He was cut off by a pair of warm lips. Gavin pulled away, the grin never leaving his face.

“Just tell me--”

“I love you,” Michael finally said, finally _getting it_. Because It had never been about Lindsay or betrayal, it had been about the last three years, about all the times he could have said it and didn’t. “I should have said it before,” he admitted aloud. “But I’m saying it now. I love you, Gavin Free.”

“Good.”

They kissed again, this time with less hesitance. They kissed like they had never kissed each other before, like it was new. Because it was. It had never been this sincere, this unhurried. They kissed for what could have been years, just mindlessly melting together at the lips, tangling their tongues in a lazy, drawn-out sort of way. But their lungs finally protested, and they pulled away to breathe.

“Look,” Gavin whispered. Michael followed the younger man’s finger which was pointing to the orange glow of the descending sun on the horizon.

“We’ve done a full circle,” Michael joked. Gavin chuckled against Michael’s neck where he had buried his face.

“Well, that wasn’t so hard, was it, you mong?” Gavin asked as they grasped hands and watched as evening turned to night.

“Harder than you’d think,” Michael muttered.

They stood there in silence, not thinking. They would have to talk later, about a lot of things. But right now, they just enjoyed the feeling of the burning Texas heat turning to a nice chill as the moon rose in the sky.

“Did you come here alone?” Gavin finally asked.

“Oh shit!” Michael yelped, all but dragging a laughing Gavin back through the bar.

When they made it back to the parking lot, Geoff and Ray were leaning against the car, muttering to each other.

“Got ‘im!!” Ray exclaimed when they saw Michael and Gavin approaching the car. Geoff smiled and all but tackled Gavin into a hug when they got close enough, nearly ripping Michael’s arm out of its socket as he was still holding hands with the Brit.

“Did you guys even go in?” Michael asked. Geoff coughed uncomfortably, disentangling himself from Gavin. Ray flushed and looked away.

“We never really found the time,” Ray excused lamely.

“You fucking pussies,” Michael laughed, climbing into the car and dragging Gavin in behind him.

“Hey!” Geoff whined. “We are not pussies! I--”

“Yeah, whatever dude,” Michael interrupted because he had stopped listening to Geoff. His eyes were fixated on Gavin whose green eyes were laughing and the pink lips were stretched into a grin and he looked happier than Michael had ever remembered seeing him. He was beautiful. He leaned in, planting another chaste kiss against the smiling lips. Gavin squeaked in surprise but kissed back, and Michael could feel the smile against his own lips. It caused him to smile too and really, by the end of it, they weren’t kissing anymore, just pressing their equally ridiculous smiles against each other.

“I’m sorry,” Michael whispered against Gavin’s lips.

“I thought I told you that you didn’t need to say that, you faff,” Gavin whispered back, moving his lips to rest on Michael’s cheek.

“I’ll never stop saying it,” Michael responded. He felt Gavin’s grin against his cheek and his stomach did a weird backflip.

“Awwww,” Geoff cooed loudly, causing the couple to jump apart. “If you guys get anymore cute, I’m going to have to throw up.”

Michael chuckled and Gavin whined. As they drove back, Ray singing along to every poppy-trash song that came on the radio while Geoff and Gavin bickered over this and that, Michael felt a strange sort of contentment enter his heart. It warmed him up and he leaned into Gavin more, turning his face into the Brit’s neck and grinning. He knew Gavin felt it because the younger man squeezed his hand, a small smirk playing at his lips as he argued with Geoff.

After a few minutes of listening to Gavin and Geoff ask each other stupid questions, Michael took out his phone and bit his lip, typing out a text.

 **I chased you**.

Gavin pulled his phone out of his pocket after it buzzed. He grinned, a big dopey grin, as he read the text. He began to text back as Geoff ranted at him about why it’s _completely_ logical to give up sex for two years just to sleep with Mila Kunis once.

**No, you found me.**

Michael smiled widely at the text and tucked his face back into Gavin’s neck. He found him.

He found home.

**Author's Note:**

> For my own dignity, I'm not a Nelly fan but Pitch Perfect made that song great so I feel like it's okay that I used it to title a series. :)


End file.
